As Good As Dead Holly Jackson

My boyfriend’s cousin went to live at his place after her divorce. Not only did she have a five-year-old, but she was even pregnant. She regarded my boyfriend as her support as if it were her right and blamed me for everything. She thought I had taken away her cousin. At a family gathering one day, her son splashed a drink at me and yelled, "You’re not allowed to steal my dad!"

Crystal Vale learned one thing growing up: visibility was dangerous. So she disappeared—behind thick glasses, baggy clothes, and the careful art of being forgettable. No one knows she hides a secret. Beneath the plainness is a woman so stunning she could stop traffic. But she buried that woman years ago. Standing out only brought trouble. Then she saved a billionaire's grandmother, and her invisible life ended. Ethan Vale is cold, ruthless, and devastatingly handsome. He married Crystal for one reason only: his grandmother's inheritance. To him, she's a transaction. A placeholder. The invisible wife who cooks his meals, waits up at night, and loves him quietly from the shadows. He never looks at her. He never sees her. He has no idea his plain, forgettable wife is hiding the face of a goddess. For one year, she endured. For one year, she hoped. For one year, she loved him in silence, believing that maybe—just maybe—he would eventually see her. He never did. The breaking point came the night his ex walked out of his bedroom and Crystal's world shattered. That night, she finally understood the truth she'd been running from: she could love him forever, and he would never, ever see her. Turns out Crystal isn't nobody. She's Crystal Laurent. Heiress to an empire that makes the Vales look like peasants. Daughter of the most powerful family in the city. The lost girl who was stolen twenty-three years ago—and never stopped being searched for. Now Crystal has a name she never knew. A family more powerful than Ethan could ever imagine. And a decision that will shake two empires to their core. Ethan Vale threw away his invisible wife without a second glance. But Crystal Laurent? She's going to make him remember her forever. Even if it destroys them both.

You need to leave him alone Elena, he’s a married man,” I said, my voice shaking but loud enough to make her spin on her heel with that bored look on her face. "He’s married to a mistake, Lori, and we both know that is just a matter of time until he fixes it," she said, snapping her compact shut and coming toward me, "you think you’re so smart with your little coding hobby, but I’m pretty sure I could give him a run for his money." ‘ “I built his company, Elena. I’m the reason he has anything at all,” I said, moving forward because I wanted her to look me in the eye and see what I mean this time. ********​Liora Vance didn’t just love her husband—she built him. ​For years, Liora was the silent genius in the shadows, writing the code that made Adrian Kade a tech billionaire. She expected a partnership; instead, she got a betrayal that nearly cost her life. Framed for a scandal by Adrian’s ex-girlfriend and discarded by the Kade family during her darkest hour, Liora was left with nothing but a broken heart and a secret pregnancy. ​Adrian thought he had erased her. He was wrong. ​Four years later, the Kade empire is crumbling. Their software is failing, and their only hope is a merger with NOVA//CORE—a global powerhouse led by a mysterious figure known only as “V.” When Adrian walks into the boardroom to beg for salvation, he doesn't find a savior. He finds the wife he called "nothing" sitting at the head of the table. ​

Aria thought she was human ordinary, unwanted, and heartbreakingly rejected by her fated mate, the ruthless Alpha King, Kael. Cast aside and humiliated in front of the entire pack, Aria flees, believing she's nothing more than a broken soul with no place in the werewolf world. But fate has other plans. When a hidden power awakens within her, secrets buried by time rise to the surface she is no mere human. She is the last descendant of a royal bloodline long thought extinct. A Queen in waiting. Now, with power surging through her veins and vengeance burning in her heart, Aria must return not as the girl who was cast away, but as the Queen she was born to become. But the Alpha King who rejected her isn’t the same man anymore. Darker. Colder. And dangerously drawn to the woman he once let go. Will Aria rule beside him or destroy the very kingdom that once shattered her?

Nolan Shaw is the big shot on campus that everyone is intimidated by. He's also the guy I've been in love with for a while now. Out of nowhere, a new admirer of his pops out. She bears a striking resemblance to me. When I bring him his water, she beats me to it. When I write him a love letter, she tears it up. Finally, I muster up the courage to be honest with Nolan about my feelings—only for her to rush over and kick over the candles I prepared for the confession. That's when I finally lose my patience. "Just what on earth are you doing?" She ignores me and grabs Nolan's arm before saying, "I'll be frank with you. I'm actually here on a mission. You and Nolan will end up in a bitter marriage, hurting each other. So the system wants me to stop you two from being together." I don't believe a word she says, thinking that she's just lying to separate us. But at the very next second, I hear her thoughts. [Just what on earth did this scumbag do to make the 22-year-old Teresa fall so hopelessly in love with him? I bet she'll be heartbroken if she finds out that in the future, he'll find her boring and end up keeping 18 mistresses on the side. And after the divorce, he'll even make it hard for her to earn a living. She ends up dying of exhaustion, too!]

I yelped, squirming, but I quickly stopped myself because I knew that, judging by the position he had me in, one wrong move and I'd fall. And sure as hell, London wasn't going to catch me. The glint in his eyes said so. He had me trapped, subjected to taking whatever he was ready to dish without writhing. His head peeked up at me from in-between my legs, and he squinted before hoarsely saying, "Oh, and one more thing... not a single sound from you, and don't touch me. Don't say I didn't warn you." What? He wasn't expecting me to just shut my eyes and keep it in. Hell, soft were already leaving my lips when he was me like a deprived lunatic a few minutes ago, and now I was... "What?" I asked in blurry understanding. "Meaning, you're not allowed to make any sound, and you're not allowed to touch me, and that includes tugging on my hair; you'd give me a headache." He huskily said this before licking my inner thighs again, inching closer to my wetness. "Or else?" I dared to ask. He gave me a devilish smile before chuckling,"You're free to find out, no?" *************** London was a devoted Gamma in his former life but was reborn as the Alpha and Lycan King and harbors a deep hatred for women and the concept of a mate bond. Although he couldn't call his past life,he gets a second chance in his new life with a woman who had lost everything precious to her in one night, but he rejected her, and now his rejection might cause him to lose everything he had ever wanted, especially since his mate was hiding an important secret, or maybe he wouldn't since he doesn't give a damn.

Warning: This is an erotic/ mature piece and it's rated for solely mature audiences. Reading with discretion is advised. "Do you feel that?" The leather crop landed on my thigh, I held onto his shoulders, unable to breathe or stop my hips from grinding out their release. "Every inch of you," his mouth latched onto my throat. "Mine." ______ Arlari Marquez thought returning to Mexico after college would mean fresh beginnings. But instead of thriving, she is barely surviving, until her anxiety comes crashing down one night. Her younger brother, Danny, makes the mistake of his life, stealing from Severiano Cortez, the most feared mafia kingpin in Mexico. Everyone knows Cortez shows no mercy. Especially when it came to his prized possessions. Arlari knows her brother’s life is already forfeit… but she intervenes. When she finds Cortez, she discovers he doesn’t want ransom. He doesn’t want money. What he wants…is a perfect sub. Ninety days. That is the deal. She will submit to him, body, mind, and soul, for three months. In return, Danny’s life will be spared. But what happens when the man who demands submission becomes addicted to the submissive? Severiano Cortez finds himself unable to wield the same brutality he has shown countless others. Instead, he unravels under the weight of a desire he never planned for, one that threatens to turn the predator into a captive. And she? The more she stays, the more she sees the shadows lurking in his world. Because Mexico is a dark place. And his dominion? Even darker.

"You have two choices, dove. Either I fuck you against the wall or on the bed." I stiffened, glaring at him and hoping he could see the hatred in my eyes. He moved closer, and ran his thumb along my lips. "Me? I don't mind any position." My teeth gritted as I stared at his face. It was a shame that someone so beautiful could have a mouth that foul. I leaned over and whispered. "Over my dead body, your majesty." ****** When Irene Slater is chosen to serve the Lycan King, she expects nothing but humiliation. He knows she is his mate, yet instead of claiming her, he strips her of dignity and forces her into a role meant to break her. It only deepens the resentment she already carries for him… and for the system that has always treated omegas as less. He wants nothing to do with her. She wants nothing to do with him. But fate has other plans and as tension turns into something neither of them can control, Irene is forced to face a dangerous truth: The king she was taught to hate may be the one she cannot escape.

He killed their marriage on a stage. She faked her death on the road. Five years ago, Cassian Wolfe—a man who never believed in love—married Leah Quinn to close a deal. On their anniversary, he closed their marriage. Publicly. Brutally. Hours later, she was “dead.” But Leah didn’t die. She vanished—helped by the last person Cassian would ever suspect: his elder brother. Now she’s back. Not as Leah. But as Raven with a new face, a billion-dollar company, and a son Cassian doesn’t know exists. Her mission? Burn down everything with the Wolfe name. When Cassian meets the mysterious new CEO of a fast-rising rival firm, he feels an inexplicable pull. He doesn’t know she’s his late wife. But when the truth slowly unravels—piece by piece—he realizes what he lost… and that he’ll do anything to get her back. Even if she hates him. Even if she’s engaged to his brother.

Callahan Hastings is relentless when it comes to getting what he wants, and what he wants is me–to be his private chef in the Hamptons for the summer. My dream job served to me on a silver platter by one of the wealthiest members of Pembroke Hills Country Club. The only catch? He’s my ex-boyfriend’s older brother with a reputation for being as charming as he is cunning. But Cal doesn’t take no for an answer. He draws you in with flirty smiles and extravagant promises. I should have seen him coming, but I didn’t. I should have stayed away, but I couldn’t. His playful touches and burning gaze have ignited a fire in me. The more I resist him, the more irresistible he becomes. I've always known there's an expiration date on the job–an expiration date on us. But leaving isn't going to be easy with Cal on his knees, begging me to stay...